The Naga National Struggle, ‘Framework Agreement’ and the Peace Prospects

The signing of the ‘Framework Agreement’ between the Government of India (GOI) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac-Muivah) on 3 August 2015 that pledges to restore ‘pride and prestige’ of the Nagas takes place after more than six-and-a-half-decades of violence and militarisation of the Naga society. The Agreement has been signed at a moment when the Naga society is marked by enormous fragmentation from within. While, the GOI through the creation of the state of Nagaland in 1963 and other initiatives created a local ruling class opposed to long-cherished Nagas’ demand for sovereignty; on the other hand, the tribes-centric proliferation of various insurgent outfits has created hostilities within the Naga society. The continuance of security apparatuses like Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 and that of the top-down development paradigm has been in contrast to the social and cultural dynamics of the Naga society. The recent Accord, which has remained silent on those issues, however, has shifted the Naga national discourse from exclusive sovereignty of the Nagas in Nagaland to that of shared sovereignty of the Nagas within the Union of India. While, there have been celebrations of the Accord among the civil society forces in Nagaland spearheaded by Naga Hoho who for long have endeavoured to sustain ceasefires between GOI and the insurgent outfits in the state, there have, however, been serious reservations in regard to the efficacy of the Accord to restore peace, harmony and national pride among the Nagas

Cytochrome P450 1B1 and 12/15 Lipoxygenase Interaction in Paraventricular Nucleus in Angiotensin II-induced Hypertension in Females

Background: Angiotensin (Ang) II releases arachidonic acid (AA) from tissue phospholipids that is metabolized by 12/15-lipoxygenase (ALOX15) generating 12(S)- and 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE) which have been implicated in cardiovascular and renal diseases. This study was conducted to investigate a) the contribution of ALOX15 to Ang II-induced hypertension and associated pathogenesis in female mice, and b) the interaction between the cytochrome P450 (CYP)1B1-generated metabolite of 17β-estradiol (E2) (2-methoxyestradiol, 2-ME) and ALOX15 in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) as a mechanism that protects against Ang II-induced hypertension and its associated pathogenesis in female mice. Methods: Experiments were conducted in intact and ovariectomized (OVX) wild type (WT), alox15 knockout (ALOX15KO) and CYP1B1KO female mice. Ang II (700 ng/kg/min) was infused subcutaneously by osmotic pumps for 2 weeks evaluation of hypertension and associated pathogenesis. Blood pressure (BP) was measured by tail-cuff and confirmed by radiotelemetry. Adenoviral probes including adenovirus (Ad)-green fluorescence (GFP)-ALOX15-short hairpin (sh)RNA, Ad-GFP-ALOX15-DNA, and their respective controls Ad-scrambled shRNA and Ad-GFP-DNA, 12(S)-HETE and 2-ME were injected in the brain using stereotaxic technique, either selectively in PVN or intracerebroventricularly via ICV cannula implanted in the right lateral ventricle to study their roles on Ang II-induced hypertension. Histological, immunohistochemical, and fluorescence microscopy and biochemical techniques were employed to determine the pathophysiological changes in tissues. ELISA was used for the analysis of sex steroids and eicosanoids. Results: Our results demonstrate that the effects of Ang II to increase BP, impair autonomic function and increase renal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and plasma 12(S)-HETE but not 15(S)-HETE level without altering renal function in intact WT mice were exacerbated in OVX-WT mice. Ang II also increased renal alox15 mRNA, urine 12(S)-HETE, water intake, urine output, decreased osmolality, increased urinary excretion of vasopressin prosegment copeptin, protein/creatinine ratio, and caused renal hypertrophy, fibrosis, and inflammation in OVX-WT mice. These effects of Ang II were attenuated in ALOX15KO mice. Moreover, the Ang II-induced hypertension that was also exaggerated in intact CYP1B1KO mice compared to WT mice was minimized by selective alox15 gene knockdown in PVN by transduction with Ad-ALOX15-shRNA and the restoration of Ang II-induced hypertension by selective reconstitution of alox15 gene in PVN by transduction with Ad-ALOX15-DNA in intact ALOX15KO mice was further exacerbated in OVX-ALOX15KO mice. Furthermore, ICV-12(S)-HETE that restored Ang II-induced increase in BP, impairment of autonomic function, neuroinflammation and renal pathogenesis in intact ALOX15KO mice, further exacerbated these effects of Ang II in OVX-ALOX15KO mice. Finally, ICV-2-ME that reduced the alox15 mRNA expression and 12(S)-HETE content in PVN minimized the hypertensive effects of Ang II, including BP, autonomic impairment, neuroinflammation and renal pathogenesis in OVX-ALOX15KO with the restoration of alox15 gene in PVN by transduction ICV with Ad-ALOX15-DNA. Conclusion: These data suggest that 17β-estradiol plays a critical role in female mice in protecting against Ang II-induced hypertension and associated pathogenesis, most likely via inhibition of ALOX15 activation and reduced production of 12(S)-HETE in the PVN. Therefore, the selective inhibitors of ALOX15 or 12(S)-HETE receptor antagonists could be useful for treating hypertension and its pathogenesis in postmenopausal, hypoestrogenic women or females with ovarian failure. These data also elucidate how drugs that inhibit CYP1B1 activity can be beneficial for treating hypertension and its pathogenesis in males but can be detrimental in females. The effect of alox15 gene polymorphism in pre-and postmenopausal females to determine its impact on the contribution of AA-ALOX15 derived 12(S)-HETE in hypertension and its pathogenesis is also warranted

Detrimental orofacial manifestations of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever clinical case series, review of the causes, complications, and vaccine strategies

It is estimated that there are about 10% of cases that involve oral mucosa in patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (HF), and even less number of cases in dengue fever (DF) has been reported. This leads to a lack of future investigation. Aims and objectivesThis review intends to enhance the understanding of the epidemiology, clinical features involving the oral manifestations, and treatment of dengue disease. Design and Methods Several search engines, including PubMed, World Health Organization (WHO), and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) websites were utilized for the literature search using the terms dengue and dengue shock syndrome.Results Dengue is a major arthropod-borne viral disease of humans. Its presentation is protean and varies from an undifferentiated viral syndrome to viral HF and severe shock. The early diagnosis of the oral manifestations, hemorrhagic, or mucocutaneous, may lead to timely clinical evaluation of the patient with signs and symptoms suggestive of dengue viral infection.Conclusion The specific therapy for dengue infections is still undiscovered. Proper care, including vector control and prevention of mosquito bites, may be beneficial. However, the role of dental professionals and general practitioners is important in identifying the oral manifestations of dengue viral infection and providing specific diagnosis and effective treatment to the patients

Transcription termination factor Rho prefers catalytically active elongation complexes for releasing RNA

RNA polymerase pauses at different DNA sequences during transcription elongation, and this pausing is associated with distinct conformational state(s) of the Elongation Complex (EC). Transcription termination by the termination factor Rho, an RNA-dependent molecular motor, requires pausing of the EC in the termination zone of Rho-dependent terminators. We hypothesized that the conformational state(s) of the EC associated with this pausing would influence the action of Rho. Analyses of the pausing behavior of the EC at the termination points of two well known Rho-dependent terminators revealed that Rho prefers actively transcribing complexes for termination. RNA release kinetics from stalled ECs showed that the rate of RNA release by Rho was reduced if the EC was irreversibly backtracked, if its RNA exit channel was modified by an RNA hairpin, or the bridge helix/trigger loop movement in its active site was perturbed. These defects were overcome significantly by enhancing the rate of ATP hydrolysis either by increasing the concentration of ATP or by using a Rho mutant with higher ATPase activity. We propose that the force generated from ATP hydrolysis of Rho is the key factor in dislodging the EC through its molecular motor action, and this process is facilitated when the EC is in a catalytically competent state, undergoing rapid “Brownian ratchet” motion

Impact of Feedback and Usability of Online Payment Processes on Consumer Decision Making

Online retail sites vary in terms of payment processes that consumers encounter. Little is known about how different implementations of payment processes affect consumers. Through the lens of mental accounting research, we theorize and empirically find that implementation characteristics of usability, feedback, and rehearsal affect consumer recall of past expenses and future impulse purchase decisions. The results have implications in terms of the design of new payment systems, especially with regard to the interface that a consumer encounters in online shopping. The study, by highlighting the influence of online payment processes on consumer behavior, also raises the possibility of using payment systems as strategic differentiators in a competitive environment

Model-based Personalized Synthetic MR Imaging

Synthetic Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging predicts images at new design parameter settings from a few observed MR scans. Model-based methods, that use both the physical and statistical properties underlying the MR signal and its acquisition, can predict images at any setting from as few as three scans, allowing it to be used in individualized patient- and anatomy-specific contexts. However, the estimation problem in model-based synthetic MR imaging is ill-posed and so regularization, in the form of correlated Gaussian Markov Random Fields, is imposed on the voxel-wise spin-lattice relaxation time, spin-spin relaxation time and the proton density underlying the MR image. We develop theoretically sound but computationally practical matrix-free estimation methods for synthetic MR imaging. Our evaluations demonstrate excellent ability of our methods to synthetize MR images in a clinical framework and also estimation and prediction accuracy and consistency. An added strength of our model-based approach, also developed and illustrated here, is the accurate estimation of standard errors of regional means in the synthesized images.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 5 table

Behavioral Economics of Digital Content

Increased use of the Internet for the distribution of digital products allows firms to embrace new business models. These models provide higher levels of product customization. In search of a better match between products and consumers’ willingness to pay, many online and mobile content providers have recently started to add new charging methods to their existing pricing strategies. Currently, a gap exists between a firm’s decision to implement a pricing mechanism and the firm’s consideration of consumers’ behavior towards acceptance of that pricing mechanism. What can firms do to better align their revenue models with consumers’ behavioral norms? If an answer exists, and we will offer one, it will directly relate to the design, implementation and pricing of information goods. From the point of view of an online content provider this paper examines implications of one of the many types of consumers’ economic anomalies: mental accounting (MA). More specifically, we look at how mental accounting (MA) of payment for and consumption of digital content at the consumer level impacts firm level choices of pricing strategies. Our results show that MA of payments and consumptions change firms’ pricing strategy for digital content. For the firm which has high digital content customization level, pay-per-use and pay-later strategies are always inferior to subscription. In contrast, under neoclassical assumptions, firms are equally well-off from employing any price scheme. Our results also show that in a duopolistic market for information goods, firms must be knowledgeable of MA’s influence on the market. MA’s influence is magnified if the level of customization is a further differentiating factor. We present general conditions under which profits increase with the intensity of MA. Also, our results offer insights into the choice of pricing schemes by content distribution networks as well as mobile service providers and may provide an explanation as to how economic and behavioral aspects of digital consumption may interact

A Matrix--free Likelihood Method for Exploratory Factor Analysis of High-dimensional Gaussian Data

This paper proposes a novel profile likelihood method for estimating the covariance parameters in exploratory factor analysis of high-dimensional Gaussian datasets with fewer observations than number of variables. An implicitly restarted Lanczos algorithm and a limited-memory quasi-Newton method are implemented to develop a matrix-free framework for likelihood maximization. Simulation results show that our method is substantially faster than the expectation-maximization solution without sacrificing accuracy. Our method is applied to fit factor models on data from suicide attempters, suicide ideators and a control group.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 4 table

Flow Cytometer: The Need of Modern Hematology Laboratory

Indeed, laboratory diagnosis is rapidly changing from what it was in the past to the present. Nowadays, flow cytometer (FCM) has become a novel introduction to the modern diagnostic technique, mainly in the field of hematology. In case of acute leukemia, peripheral blood, bone marrow examination, cytochemistry and immunohistochemistry for differentiation of myeloid or lymphoid lineage is required, which is feasible by flow cytometry. It has dramatically improved the diagnostic efficiency and reduced the duration of sampling along with better diagnostic outcomes as well as provided efficient therapeutic monitoring of any drug or drug regimen. It has also opened some more sensitive therapeutic plans, like monitoring “Minimal residual disease (MRD)”, which is not possible without FCM. Detection of MRD has led to improved overall survival of patients. It has also opened up huge opportunities for research, which has become an important part of academic curriculum nowadays. Considering the importance and absolute necessity for better outcomes in hematology, the knowledge of basic principle of FCM becomes indispensable. Here, we try to elucidate the elementary components of this technique and also highlight its uses.&nbsp

Design & Implementation Interface for Electrical or Electronics Lab Simulator

In the current world, it?s almost impossible to imagine that someone can live without computers. Computers have become an electronic device of almost every day use for individuals of every age. They are essential in almost all the business dealings that are made nowadays Electrical circuits are the building blocks of all electronic devices whether they are simple devices such as digital watches, timer circuits or sophisticated devices such as mobile phones, Laptops, etc. While designing new circuits, errors may occur that can have adverse effects sometimes leading to monetary loss. Therefore, a need for virtual electrical laboratory arises. Electrical circuits can be tested in a virtual environment before the actual physical implementation to prevent any kind of loss. This ?Virtual Lab Simulator Using Java ? project aims at providing a user-friendly GUI to easily and quickly assemble circuits and get the required output. ?Virtual Lab Simulator? will be a java-based project, so it will be compatible with all operating systems supporting java. The GUI part will implemented using java swing components (Jpanels and Jframes)